Voices Across America

Multiple Invisible Diagnoses: Misdiagnosed & Misunderstood

Kaitlyn

State: Georgia
Congressional District: GA06

Diseases

Gastrointestinal Disease, Immune Disease, Migraine, Rare Disease

Issues and Challenges

Kaitlyn has encountered: Disability, Gaslighting, Underserved Community

My Story

My name is Kaitlyn and in 2018 during my first year of college, my illnesses started to really pop up in my life.

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in 2020 right before the pandemic lock down. From there, I have continued to get sicker and now have 13 total illnesses including Psoriasis, Hidradenitis Supprativa, POTS, Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, and others*.

It’s been a long journey of misdiagnosis, medication interactions that made my heart stop, hospital visits and stays, trying to help people understand, meetings with professors, and medical gaslighting but I’m finally on the road to getting the answers I need to move forward. I’m still figuring out treatments since a lot of medications interact which makes things difficult, but I know we will figure it out eventually.

*I have also been diagnosed with Psoriasis, long Covid, Dermatographia, PCOS, Lyme Disease, Dysautonomia, and Vasovagal Syncope

My Motivation and Inspiration

To spread awareness of these many invisible conditions

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